Cuomo tries the Trump defense

This is in some ways expected: For as long as elected politicians have been embattled, they have pointed to the support of voters to try to stay in office. But Cuomo and Trump each take this tactic and ratchet it up to a more dramatic claim that since they were elected by the voters, they can only be removed by them. While they frame this as the only truly democratic position, it’s closer to the logic of authoritarian populism.

There are notable differences between Cuomo’s and Trump’s situations. Cuomo appears to have made reasonable errors in his attempt to fight the coronavirus, then unreasonably hidden the evidence; Trump (along with many other governors) never made much of an effort at all to fight the virus, and never hid it. Cuomo faces serious allegations of sexual harassment from several women. Trump faces allegations of even more serious sexual misconduct, including rape, and was recorded on tape boasting about sexual assault…

But government is not run by opinion polls, nor should it be. Pedantic political commentators like to point out that the United States is a republic, not a democracy, but this is one venue where their lecturing is well taken. Voters choose elected officials, but not just the governor. They also vote for the lieutenant governor, who replaces the governor if he resigns, as well as legislators who serve as a check on the governor, some of whom (including the New York Senate majority leader, a Democrat) have said Cuomo should resign.